Climate change and the ecological intelligence of Confucius
General Material Designation
[Article]
First Statement of Responsibility
/ Shih-yu Kuo
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
9626-1744
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Confucius is conventionally regarded as the founder of secular humanism and as a philosopher concerned about humans and culture. I would add to this that Confucius should also be read as an environmental philosopher. One reason is the pedagogical dimension in Confucianism, which points to Confucius as an environmental educator not the least of which since much of environmental education relies on common sense and an enlightened collective selfinterest. Another reason is an aspect I call ecological intelligence, which is a key feature of ancient Confucianism and a signpost for the civil evolution that the mitigation of climate change demands from global civilization today.